Shakespeare and Folktales

Shakespeare and Folktales

You probably know where Shakespeare got the ideas for his plays. The Histories come from Holinshed’s Chronicles. Caesar and other Roman plays depend on Plutarch’s Lives. The Comedy of Errors comes from Plautus’s Menaechmi. Troilus and Cressida borrows from the Illiad. The Winter’s Tale repackages Robert Greene’s Pandosto. But what if we told you that a number of his plays draw inspiration from folktales, versions of which exist not only in England, but all over the world? Charlotte Artese’s new book, Shakespeare and the Folktale, anthologizes some of the folktales that made their way into Shakespeare’s plays. For example, Lear includes elements of a story sometimes called “Love Like Salt,” part of a larger tradition of Cinderella stories. The Merchant of Venice plays out much like a Chilean folktale called “White Onion.” Wacky tales of twins predate not only Shakespeare, but also Plautus. We talk to Artese about some of these stories and about how she became interested in folklore’s influence on Shakespeare (it involves Led Zeppelin). She is Chair of the English Department at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. Shakespeare and the Folktale was published by Princeton University Press in 2019. Artese is interviewed by Barbara Bogaev. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published February 18, 2020. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This podcast episode, “The Strangest Tale That Ever I Heard,” was produced by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. We had technical helped from Andrew Feliciano at Voice Trax West in Studio City, California, and Kevin Rinker at public radio station WABE in Atlanta, Georgia.

Jaksot(297)

Music for Shakespeare's Lyrics

Music for Shakespeare's Lyrics

The majority of Shakespeare’s plays call for singing — sometimes it’s part of the action, sometimes it seems to spring out of nowhere. And while the lyrics to the songs appear to have always been a p...

7 Loka 201531min

The Year of Lear

The Year of Lear

1606 was a critical year for Shakespeare’s creative career. It was the year in which he wrote KING LEAR, MACBETH, and ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. It was also a time in which the king of England, James I, fa...

23 Syys 201529min

Editing Shakespeare

Editing Shakespeare

Just what exactly does it mean to edit the works of Shakespeare, particularly since we have no surviving manuscript copies? Why is it that new editions of the plays continue to be published? In this ...

9 Syys 201531min

Shakespeare Not Stirred

Shakespeare Not Stirred

"Shakespeare Not Stirred" is the creation of two English professors who combined their love of the cocktail hour and their love of Shakespeare to write a collection of Bard-inspired cocktail and hors ...

26 Elo 201525min

Great Shakespeareans

Great Shakespeareans

If you were to make a list of the people who have left an enduring imprint on how the world interprets, understands, and receives Shakespeare, who would you choose? About a decade ago, Peter Holland,...

29 Heinä 201521min

Shakespeare and The Tabard Inn

Shakespeare and The Tabard Inn

What if Shakespeare and his friends had gotten together and carved their names on the wall of an inn made famous by Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales? The intriguing possibility of such a link between these ...

15 Heinä 201519min

Shakespeare in Hong Kong

Shakespeare in Hong Kong

"Last thing he did, dear queen, He kissed—the last of many doubled kisses— This orient pearl. His speech sticks in my heart." ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA (1.5.45-48) Hong Kong, a former British colony, ha...

1 Heinä 201524min

Shakespeare on Film

Shakespeare on Film

For most of us, “seeing Shakespeare” means experiencing live actors in a theater. But for more than 100 years, Shakespeare’s words, plots, settings and characters have also been brought to life on fil...

17 Kesä 201523min

Suosittua kategoriassa Premium

nikotellen
anni-jaajo
tuplakaak
jaljilla
antin-matka
olipa-kerran-otsikko
grekovit
hei-baby-3
maanantaimysteeri
palmujen-varjoissa
terveisia-perheesta
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
kaksi-aitia
the-harlin-show
i-dont-like-mondays
murhan-anatomia
ihan-oikeesti
backmanholmavuo
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria